Conventional operating devices, for example, comprise mechanical operating elements, such as rotary actuators or pushbutton switches, for example, which generate an electrical signal that is converted, by a control device, into a control signal for a device to be operated.
Furthermore, it is conventional, in the case of a graphical user interface, to display operating elements on a display area. Said operating elements can be actuated by means of an input device, which can comprise a cursor controller, for example. The actuation on the display area by means of the input device is detected by the control device and converted into a control signal for the device to be operated. The device to be operated can be an external device or the display device itself.